ZUBIMENDI TAKES INDIRECT SWIPE AT LIVERPOOL AFTER ARSENAL COUP FULLY EXPLAINED

Arsenal have announced the signing of Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad – and a report has shed light on how he knew of their interest by the time he rejected Liverpool last summer.

Zubimendi has joined Arsenal for a fee of €65m (£56.1m/$76.6m) after they negotiated a fee higher than his release clause to be able to pay in instalments. The midfielder has signed a long-term contract at the Emirates Stadium, going on to explain why it was “the move I was looking for.”

This time last year, Liverpool thought they had Zubimendi in the bag, but he opted to stay with Real Sociedad, the only club he had played for in his career thus far.

Now, he has arrived in the Premier League but with Arsenal, where he will wear the no.36 shirt – last worn by an outfield player when Ismael Bennacer made his only appearance for the club in October 2015. Zubimendi was previously no.36 for Real Sociedad until 2021.

According to The Athletic, Arsenal have been monitoring Zubimendi since the 2019-20 season, when they were monitoring their future captain Martin Odegaard.

The report adds that Arsenal discussed him in January 2023 before signing Chelsea’s Jorginho (who Zubimendi will now help replace after his exit for Flamengo).

Finally, it’s confirmed that Arsenal opened talks with Real Sociedad about Zubimendi last summer, at the same time as Merino, but the latter was easier to sign because of his contract situation.

That means Zubimendi knew about Arsenal’s interest when he turned down the move to Liverpool – and in his first interview as an Arsenal player, he has confirmed he’s ended up making the move he wanted.

“This is a huge moment in my career,” he told www.arsenal.com. “It’s the move I was looking for and one I wanted to make. As soon as you set foot here, you realise how big this club and this team are.

“I set my sights on Arsenal because their style of play is a good fit for me. They have shown their potential recently and the best is yet to come.”

Arteta and Berta speak on Zubimendi transfer

Another interesting snippet revealed in The Athletic‘s report is that Arsenal’s new sporting director Andrea Berta didn’t have Zubimendi on his radar for previous club Atletico Madrid.

However, he decided to follow through the deal regardless, especially knowing Mikel Arteta was keen on adding the 26-year-old to his squad.

Berta explained: “We are so happy to bring Martin to Arsenal and have a lot of pride in finalising this transfer. Martin was a key target for us and we all know that he is a perfect fit for our squad with the high quality he has.

“We welcome Martin and his family to the club. We look forward to him settling in with his teammates and are very excited to see him playing in an Arsenal shirt.”

Arteta added: “Martin is a player who will bring a huge amount of quality and football intelligence to our team. He will fit in really well and he has all the attributes to be a key player for us.

“The standard he has consistently performed at over the last few seasons for both club and country is exactly why we are so excited to have him with us. We all welcome Martin and his family to the club.”

Zubimendi is expected to play as a midfield anchor for Arsenal, allowing Declan Rice to flourish in a no.8 role along with Odegaard offering an option in attacking midfield.

Arsenal’s next midfield signing could be of Christian Norgaard from Brentford, which would replenish their depth numerically after the departures of Jorginho and Thomas Partey.

Arsenal transfer news: What next?

The next area for Arsenal to strengthen is the striker position, which has held them back from winning titles in recent seasons.

Fortunately, there have been big steps towards a breakthrough. Personal terms have been agreed with Viktor Gyokeres and a deal with his current employers at Sporting CP isn’t far away.

Arsenal have been choosing between Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko, but all signs are now pointing towards the more experienced Sweden international, whose heart is equally set on a move to the Emirates Stadium rather than a reunion with Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford.

Arsenal have also agreed terms with a Chelsea winger, although there have been murmurings of the Blues trying to take Ethan Nwaneri in the opposite direction.

On that front, a supposed ‘ultimatum’ is piling the pressure on the Gunners.

How Zubimendi will fit in at Arsenal

Martin Zubimendi was a name on everyone’s lips last summer, when he was heavily targeted by Liverpool and enjoyed being part of Spain’s successful Euro 2024 squad.

This year, it’s Arsenal who have completed a deal for the metronomic deep-lying playmaker, the next piece of the puzzle in their midfield evolution.

When Arsenal finished as runners-up in the Premier League for the first time since Mikel Arteta became manager, their strong midfield anchoring pair of Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey was a major contributing factor.

But, in that summer of 2023, Arsenal let Xhaka go and broke their club transfer record to sign Declan Rice from West Ham in his place.

But even though they paid a nine-figure sum for Rice, their subsequent business has shown that his arrival was not intended as the finishing touch in that area of the pitch.

One year later, Arsenal were buying Mikel Merino from Real Sociedad, and now they’ve convinced Zubimendi to make the same move.

If it seems like a luxury move given what they’ve done in the position already, it is not. In Zubimendi, Arsenal have bought a player perfect for their philosophy under Arteta.

He excels in possession, acting as a funnel to move the ball to fellow creative midfielders, but also in winning duels, making him a superb option to sit in the deepest midfield role.

Rice has variably played as a no.6 or a no.8 for Arsenal, but he should be able to form a good partnership with a player of Zubimendi’s traits, perhaps in a double pivot or a 4-3-3 with Martin Odegaard as the most advanced midfielder.

In that 4-3-3, Zubimendi would likely sit at the base of the midfield and Rice would be a no.8, with Odegaard obviously having the most attacking freedom of the trio. Zubimendi could then break up play and dictate possession at the start of Arsenal’s movements.

It can’t be taken for granted that he would immediately adapt to the Premier League, but his tactical intelligence should make him a solid fit for what Arteta is trying to build.

2025-07-06T14:12:05Z